Dirty Little Secret
by JenCala28
Summary: No matter how much she loves him, she refuses to be his secret.


Draco leaned against the bar, watching her from across the crowded ballroom, following her every movement with angry eyes. She was standing with her date, that fool he used to call a friend, Theo Nott. She was a vision in a strapless green dress that clung to her every curve, the deep emerald color making her golden skin glow. Her curls were tamed in an elegant chignon, allowing him to take in the graceful curve of her neck and all the luscious skin she displayed.

She leaned closer to Theo, laughing at whatever he was whispering in her ear. Normally, Draco would have admired her infectious mirth, the way her whole face lit up, but he could only see red as Theo placed his hand on her waist.

A woman waiting for her drink at the bar moved quickly away when she heard the low growl that erupted from him as he watched his former friend flirt with Hermione Granger. He took another sip from his drink, but never took his eyes off the pair across the room.

A hand clasped his shoulder and he turned to look at a smirking Blaise Zabini. "What's got your wand in a twist, Malfoy?"

Draco barely glanced at the dark haired wizard before returning his gaze to Hermione and Theo who were now joined by Potter and his wife. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Blaise."

Blaise took a sip of the drink the bartender handed him and tracked Draco's gaze across the room. "I seem to remember Theo having a crush on Granger after the Yule Ball our fourth year. It looks like he finally fulfilled his boyhood fantasies."

Draco ignored him and turned his back on the pair in question before ordering another Firewhisky.

Blaise pressed on. "Of course, you would think that the fact you and Granger were an item not so long ago might deter Theo from making a move."

"What the hell are you getting at, Zabini," Draco snarled.

Blaise smiled innocently. "Just making the observation that Theo doesn't seem to be following the unwritten code where friends don't hit on their friend's girlfriends."

Draco threw back the rest of his drink. "That's ex-girlfriend. Granger is free to do whatever she wants."

"Even Theo?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at Blaise. "Granger dumped me, remember? She made it perfectly clear she wanted to see other people."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "It was an ultimatum, you imbecile. Only a handful of people knew about you two. She was tired of being your dirty little secret."

"How the hell do you know this?"

Blaise grinned at Draco. "Mate, I think the better question here is how did you not?"

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Hermione's cheeks were starting to hurt from the smile frozen in place for far too long. She looked up at Theo and was warmed by how well he was getting on with Harry, both men deep in a conversation about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup.

It had been eight years since the end of the war and she was thrilled that her generation had begun the process of healing. Most of her former schoolmates had moved on from the petty House rivalries that had underscored their years at Hogwarts, but she had still worried that Theo would not get along with her friends. Her thoughts strayed to the arguments Draco and Harry would always inevitably get into, but she did not want to dwell on _him_. She pulled herself quickly out of that line of thought and back to the handsome former Slytherin at her side.

She had been surprised when Theodore Nott had shown up at her office the week before and invited her to the Ministry Gala. Although they had been cordial for the last few years as co-workers in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, they had become friends over the six months that she and Draco had dated. He was one of Draco's closest friends and so she had been quite shocked that he had asked her out.

She thought Theo was a very attractive man, with his dark hair and contrasting ice blue eyes, but she never thought he was interested in her in that way. The genuine smile that lit up his face when she accepted, though, eased whatever qualms she had. She was amused as he gave her a saucy wink, pushing off the doorframe with lazy elegance and taking a bite out of the shiny, green apple he'd been holding.

"Fantastic. I'll pick you up at eight, Hermione." He had winked again before strolling away, humming while he continued to savor his apple.

She was brought out of her musings when she felt someone watching her. She turned slightly and found herself staring straight into Draco's stormy eyes.

Everything seemed to disappear and her world narrowed down to Draco, as it always seemed to do when he was near. He looked incredibly handsome in his black dress robes, but it was the fire in his eyes that took her breath away.

When she first found out he was also working in the MLE, she had seen nothing but the same arrogant prat she had known in school. She ignored him the first year he worked in the department, but then they had been paired on an assignment together and things had started to thaw between them. When she stopped waiting for the expected insults and he stopped expecting her to hold his past mistakes against him, they realized they had quite a bit in common.

An amicable working relationship had led to occasional tea breaks together, which, of course, led to a twice-weekly lunch date. Before long, she couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach every time he came near. She had thought it was completely one-sided until the day they were leaving their favorite diner and he was helping her into her coat. She had looked up at him and felt something in the air shift, becoming charged between them. Draco's eyes had darkened with desire.

"Fuck it," he had said, before taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

Her entire world had spun in that moment and it was glorious.

They had both said they wanted to take it slow, to explore whatever it was between them with caution. It took them exactly two dates before they were tearing each other's clothes off in their haste to make it to Hermione's bedroom. Hermione could still vividly remember the wonder of having him inside her that first time. They hadn't even made it to the bed before he was taking her against the wall, her nails raking his back as his thrusts brought her to a climax like none she had ever experienced.

Hours later, laying in her bed with their limbs entwined, thoroughly sated and exhausted after their third or possibly fourth time, they had laughed about their failure to take things slow. He had mused that technically they had had fifteen years of foreplay so it all balanced out.

She had thought it might be awkward between them after that first night, but instead it seemed they couldn't get enough of each other. The sex was amazing and frequent, but it was the time they spent together that she cherished most. He was astonishingly intelligent, more than she had ever appreciated, and had a biting wit that had her laughing more often than not. She was also amazed at how much he knew about Muggle literature and technology and he admitted that after the war he had started spending much of his time in the Muggle world trying to justify the hatred with which he had been raised. Instead, he had learned that the only thing wizards had that Muggles didn't was magic. He was constantly amazed by their inventions and some of his favorite authors were now Muggles.

Hermione could hardly believe that this was the same man who had called her Mudblood for years and when he finally apologized for all the years of taunts and bullying, she only responded by pressing her lips to his.

It still amazed her how quickly she had fallen in love with him. She hadn't said the words, but one night while they had been watching a movie on the telly at her flat she had come back from getting them drinks from the kitchen and just looked at him sitting on her couch, bare feet propped on her coffee table as he was completely engrossed in the movie. In that moment, she had just _known_. They had barely been together a month and she felt how right it was between them, how simple.

It was also when it had become glaringly obvious to her that he was keeping their relationship a secret. Sure, their closest friends knew, but apart from Harry, Ron, and Ginny for her and Blaise, Theo and Pansy for Draco, the rest of the world was still oblivious. She kept telling herself it didn't matter. So what if he would rather have takeaway at one of their flats instead of going out to dinner? So what if he had balked at meeting her parents over the holidays? It didn't truly matter if they only spent time together with their friends at one of their homes.

But it did.

She tried to get him to talk about it, but it was the one topic he didn't want to discuss. He always changed the subject, or explained that he preferred to spend time at home, or else just distracted her with his intoxicating kisses.

They spent almost every free moment together and she knew he loved her. He just wouldn't say it.

One day, she had finally had enough and told him she wanted to end their relationship. He looked shocked at first and tried to make a joke about her truly detesting the curry he had brought over. When he saw she was serious, a glimpse of the old Malfoy had reappeared and she was left in tears as he tore her to shreds for leading him on. He had looked at her one last time before he walked out her door and he looked about to say something, but whatever it was, he kept his mouth shut and just walked away, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione had cried for days, constantly questioning her decision. She finally realized though that she wanted all of him or nothing. She didn't want to do things by half and every time they ran into each other at the Ministry and he made a point of ignoring her, it solidified her resolve.

She was brought out of her reflections by Theo's voice at her side.

She took one last look at Draco before she turned to her date. "I'm sorry, Theo, what did you say?"

Theo grinned at her before asking her again if she would care for a drink. "Oh, that would be lovely, thank you." She smiled warmly at him and excused herself to make a quick trip to the ladies' room.

She walked quickly to the restroom, avoiding looking Draco's direction though she could still feel his eyes boring into her back. Once safely inside the posh loo, she sat down on a chair and pretended to examine the heel on her shoe in order to gather her thoughts. It wouldn't do to be thinking of Draco while she was here with Theo. It was her first date since ending her relationship with Draco and she had promised herself she would at least try to enjoy herself. Theo was an attractive, successful man who she truly liked as a person and even though her heart still belonged to Draco, she owed it to herself to give things a go with Theo since it was obvious Draco refused to take their relationship further.

Once she felt she had calmed down sufficiently, she took a deep breath and exited the rest room.

The first thing she saw as she walked out was Draco leaning against the wall, waiting for her. She attempted to walk past him, but he stepped out in front of her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked, his eyes slowly traveling from the black heels on her feet until he met her eyes. "You're looking lovely, Granger. Did you wear that color for me?"

Hermione felt a blush creep into her cheeks. "I have no idea what you mean, Malfoy. I happen to like green."

"I wonder, though... " Draco paused and stepped closer, not quite touching her, not bothering to disguise the heat in his eyes as he gazed into hers. "Are you wearing those matching knickers I got you underneath that lovely gown?"

Hermione fought the urge to lean into him. She narrowed her eyes. "That is none of your business, Malfoy. Now please get out of my way," she hissed.

She tried again to pass by him, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her into the nearby alcove. "Malfoy! What do you thi-" He crushed his mouth to hers, bringing her protest to an abrupt halt.

Hermione couldn't help but moan when his tongue traced the seam of her lips, seeking entrance. She twined her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair as he devoured her mouth. His arms caged her against him, his lean body pressing her against the wall.

His lips moved down her jaw, and he buried his head in her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her soft skin.

"Merlin, I've missed you." His hands cupped her buttocks and she could feel his erection straining against her stomach. She pressed against him and the groan that left his lips only fueled the fire raging inside her.

As he moved to cup her breasts, she suddenly remembered where they were and jerked away from him. His eyes were almost black with lust and they both stood there panting for a moment.

"We can't do this, Draco," she said, unable to hide the longing in her voice. She turned to escape, but again he pulled her roughly to him, her back against his chest.

"Draco…stop," she said breathlessly.

He ran his hand up her leg, his touch desperate and rough.

"Do you really want me to stop?" His voice was hoarse as he trailed his fingers over her stomach, his lips ghosting a trail up the column of her neck.

She could feel the long, hard ridge of him pressed firmly against her bum and she couldn't help herself from grinding against him. He chuckled darkly against her ear, one hand splayed on her stomach, the other tracing circles on her upper thigh. "You can't deny what you feel with me, Granger."

She shivered as he gently nipped her exposed shoulder, and then soothed it with another trail of kisses.

"This is wrong, Draco."

He turned her around and held her flush against him. "We are many things, Hermione, but wrong is not one of them. " His eyes were molten pools of quicksilver and she couldn't look away from the heat in them.

She ran her hands up his chest. "I meant that there are other people around. I have a date." His hands cupped and kneaded the firm globes of her bum and he lowered his mouth to hers, stopping a hairsbreadth away. "We broke up."

Draco brushed his lips against hers and pulled back slightly. He slipped his wand out of his dress robes and cast a quick Disillusionment spell.

"That's one." He turned her around again so she was facing the party going on all around them. He dragged his hands up her legs, her dress riding up as his hands sought the edge of her knickers.

"As for your third objection," he breathed as his teeth grazed the spot where her neck met her shoulder. "I seem to remember that it was you who dumped me."

Hermione struggled to hold onto her senses. She wanted nothing more than for him to take her right there, the people around them be damned. She had to regain some control.

"Y-you skipped number two."

One of his hands had moved to cup her breast through her dress and the other teased the edges of her knickers as he ground his erection against her, his teeth grazing the shell of her ear and she shivered with all of the delicious sensations he was creating.

"Oh, you mean your date?" he whispered against her ear. "You're mine, Granger. Mine alone. Theo may have brought you here, but you're not leaving with him."

His fingers dipped into her knickers and skimmed her folds. "You know you want me to rip these right off you, don't you, Granger? Nothing feels better than when I'm inside your pretty little quim." She couldn't help pushing against his hand and realized the whimpers she heard were coming from her. His fingers slipped inside her, teasing her clit. "See how wet you are, sweetheart? That's all for me. Not Theo. Your perfect pussy belongs to me."

She tried to form the words she needed to say, but his touch was driving all conscious thought from her mind and all she could do was clench her teeth to keep from begging for more.

As if he sensed her struggle, Draco stilled his movements. "You know you want this, you know you want me. " He cupped her mound. "This is where I belong. Kissing you, touching you, fucking you." She felt him suck in a deep breath against her. "Loving you."

Her eyes flew open. "Wh-what?"

He removed his hands and let her dress fall back down her legs, turning her once again so that she faced him. He saw the confusion in her eyes and decided to go for broke.

"I love you, Hermione Granger. I think I've loved you since the moment I first kissed you at that awful little diner. I may have loved you longer than that, if I'm being honest, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm not letting you walk out of my life. I don't care if people accuse me of tainting you, of Imperius'ing you to go out with me. I just want to love you as long as you'll let me."

Hermione shook her head. "What are you talking about? What people?"

Draco looked away for a moment. "You kept asking me why I never wanted to take our relationship public, so to speak. Well, here's your answer. People treat me like shit every day on the streets. I'm a former Death Eater, remember?" He took a deep breath. "I don't care if my father disowns me, though I know my mother will love you. I don't want people to treat you badly because you're with me. You don't deserve that. I… I don't want you to see how much people still hate me and have you hate me, too. You deserve so much better than me."

Hermione pressed her lips to his and he felt the tears running down her face. "Oh no, Hermione, I'm sorry…" he exclaimed, alarmed at her reaction.

She laughed softly as tears continued to fall. "Shh, you silly man. I love you too, Draco." She kissed him again before continuing. "You are the most stubborn man! I love you. I love you so much and all I want is for you to love me too. The fools who treat you badly will have me to contend with."

At his look of incredulity, she smiled. "War heroine, remember? Just let them try to say something."

He smiled and hugged her closer. "Say it again. Please."

She looked into his eyes and ran her hand gently over his cheek. "I love you, Draco. Now take me home."

He kissed her before Disapparating outside her flat, his arms still around her. She unlocked her door and led him to her bedroom.

She unzipped her dress, letting it fall to her feet, revealing the dark green silk bra and panty set he had mentioned earlier. "Make love to me, Draco."

He wasted no time in divesting himself of his own clothes and gathering her to him. He made short work of her lingerie and proceeded to worship her body, kissing, caressing, leaving no inch of her body spared from his devout attention. When he ran his mouth roughly over her center, parting her folds with his tongue, she came apart and he drank in her essence, holding her still so he could taste every drop.

Her movements stilled and he slithered up her body, bringing her knees up on either side of him before entering her in one fluid motion. He smothered her moan with his mouth and she tasted herself on his lips, relishing the feel of him inside her, all around her.

Draco rolled them over so that Hermione was on top and she rocked her hips, finding the perfect angle as she rode him, her hands splayed on his chest for balance. He guided her hips and thrust to match her movements. Their breathing grew frantic and he brought his hand in between them, flicking her clit.

"Let go, Hermione. Come apart for me." He growled as she did and clenched around him, milking his own orgasm from him, her name a cry on his lips.

Spent, Hermione fell forward on his chest, his arms gathering her close. "I love you, Hermione. Merlin, I love you."

She smiled at him as she regained her breath. "I love you too, Draco. So much."

They lay quietly together, glorying in each other's presence before Draco broke the silence. "Do you think your parents would mind if we came to tea tomorrow?"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining. "I think that will be just fine."

He smiled and kissed her, knowing he'd risk anything for the witch in his arms.

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Blaise saw Theo standing at the bar nursing a drink and walked over to him. "So?" he asked. "Did it work?"

Theo smirked at the darker man. "You don't see my lovely date anywhere, do you?"

The longtime friends laughed together and proceeded to argue about which one of them Draco would make his best man at the wedding they knew was inevitable.


End file.
